Thursday, 27 January 2011

Thank you to everyone for all the kind birthday wishes you sent me. I had a lovely day yesterday, a day out doing a bit of retail therapy followed by a fantastic meal with DH. It turns out I share my birthday with crafting royalty...none other than Claire Brennan of Waltzingmouse...what an honour!

I have a whole day of completely "me" time today...a day to do exactly as I wish, and it is difficult to know what to do first!

So I thought I would kill two birds with one stone in this post...first to show off some thank you cards made with my new SU stash that my lovely mum bought me for Christmas (thanks mum), and two to show how I create the impressions that so often frame my sentiments, as this one of the most common questions I get asked.

I can only show you how I do it, there may well be other ways. I just learned by trial and error. As I don't have a Wizard I use my Bigshot which works perfectly with Nesties. Sooo....

Step 2: Place a Nestie on top of your cardstock, with the cutting side face down, and then place on top of the tan embossing mats.

Step 3: Place a clear cutting plate on top of the Nestie and card. (apologies for the well used, I mean well loved, state of mine!!). Then just roll it through.

And Voila!! A perfectly embossed shape. What I realised after many failed attempts is that it really does not take a lot of pressure to create the embossing. I was continually trying to add shims to thicken my Nestie sandwich, then trying to force it all through, ending up ruining a lot of cardstock as a result!

This is now a technique I use a lot, particularly for the one layer cards as it adds a bit of dimension without the need for layers.

And finally, some pictures of my cards...one with SU's striped grosgrain ribbon in Rich Razzleberry...

...one with Certainly Celery...

..and one with Marina Mist.

Well, the day is yet young, and I am going to make the most of my day with more crafting and blogging. The weather here is horrible, very dull and freezing cold, just the excuse I need to stay tucked up in my craft room!!

I hope my l'il step by step guide helps those who have been unsure how to create impressions with Nesties.

I knew I would miss it - Happy Birthday for yesterday and thank you for your birthday wishes to me. Aquarians are such lovely people, don't you think!Love the perfect simplicity of your Thank you cards with those striking ribbons. Thank you too for your tutorial. I so often see how to do things using a Cuttlebug and then I struggle to work out how to do them with my Big Kick which is just an American Big Shot as far as I can tell. I'm off to give it a try! Belated birthday hugs! Lesley

Hi Sarita. Thanks for your kind comments. I'm glad you had a wonderful birthday and have treated us with your SU stash. Gorgeous cards as usual. You always make such beautiful, elegant cards. Totally loving those ribbons!! Thanks for the tutorial too, I was wondering how you did your embossing just the other day!!!!! x

Hi SaritaHappy Birthday for yesterday, glad you had a lovely day, stunning card hun, luv the ribbon.When i emboss like that i get the marks from my plate onto the card? have to slip some paper over it, sue,xx

Hi SaritaYes I got the ribbon from the US. Here's the store I use which I think you would like if you haven't already discovered ithttp://notimetostamp.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/ribbon-for-sale/Thanks for the embossing tutorial, off to try that out.Linbyx

these are just so so incredibly stylish!!! Love the stripy ribbon!!! Thank you for the tutorial...I might just have to give this a go......and dont worry about your plates, they look brand new in compared to mine!! LOL!! Hugs Juls

I've awarded you with the Stylish Blogger award!! All you have to do is post a link back to my blog with 8 things we should know about you and 8 bloggers you would like to give this award to as well!! Don't forget to let them all know on their blogs too! Congrats. :)

Happy Belated Birthday! Since I really like to come and see all your elegant creations, I will NOT sing! I'll have to try your embossing tip. If you think your plate is bad you should see mine! Lovely thank you cards. Hope that you enjoyed your YOU day!R/

Stunningly simple Sarita and thanks so much for the tut! Always wondered how you did that! Love the pink card too and you're right, the sentiment is stunning but it's how you use it that makes it sensational!Much Lovex Michelle